Meetings &
The Room

There are three main types.

First, scheduled Marché meetings. These are booked in advance. You sit down, start explaining the project, and they move you on quickly to what matters. Stage, budget, cast, what is already in place.

Second, follow-on meetings. These come from something earlier in the week. You met briefly, they showed interest, and now you have a proper slot. These are more direct because they already know the basics. You are expected to go straight into detail.

Third, shorter meetings that sit in between. Not fully planned, but not random either. Someone asks you to come by later or finds a gap between meetings. You get 10 to 15 minutes. Enough to place the project and see if it goes further.

You will have those three types of Marché meetings, but a lot of Cannes happens in coffee meetings, pavilion conversations, or things set up on the spot during the week.

There are plenty of ways to meet people at the festival. If you are paying attention, you will have conversations at stands, around industry talks, outside screenings, at events, or through someone introducing you.

It is not a full pitch. You do not go in hard. You need a short version of your project that you can expand if they ask. If you talk too long without being asked, you lose them.

You also get short follow-ups. You spoke earlier in the day or earlier in the week, and now you reconnect for a few minutes to continue. If it moves, you try to set a proper meeting where you can go through the deck and materials.

You will also have coffee meetings or something arranged over lunch. That usually means they are willing to give you more time. If you suggest it, you pay. Remember to tailor your style of pitch to the setting — no one wants to be treated to a one way speech, where you kill any motivation to meet or talk to you again.

It varies more than people expect. A pre-arranged Marché meeting is typically twenty to thirty minutes, but many run shorter, especially if schedules are tight or things are running late. Informal slots at a stand or between meetings can be as little as ten minutes. A meeting that runs longer than planned is usually a positive sign. However long you have, be ready to compress if needed and still hit the key beats.

Both, but they do different jobs and you should be prepared for the different approach. The planned meetings are where you have time to go through the project properly and answer questions in detail. Securing a meeting is never a guarantee, especially if you have not lined any up before you arrive.

The conversations on the spot are where you make an impression and plant a seed. This is where you work your way to a more formal meeting or a more detailed conversation. Do not ever bank on anything happening beyond this in the fast-paced world that is Cannes, so be prepared to make the most of a one-off chat.

In practice, you want a mixture of both. The planned meetings give you structure. The on-the-spot conversations open new and unexpected doors to partners and industry targets you may not have thought of.

You open with a short, clear framing and set-up of your project, using this as your chance to impress and set the vision. What it is, what stage it is at, and where it fits. Make it easy for them to understand quickly. They also want to know why it matters and whether it has a market.

From there, either you continue through part of your pitch, or they step in early and start asking questions. That usually means they want to get to what matters faster.

This is where it can go off track. You answer questions that were meant to come later, then more follow, and you get pulled into detail before you have set the full picture. If you try to rush through the rest, it lands badly.

You can also get a derailer — someone who focuses on one detail and keeps pushing on it. The conversation shifts, others follow, and you never get back to the main pitch. The other risk is having no clear structure. No obvious beats. Nothing that shows how it fits the market.

Yes. If there is interest, the conversation moves into detail quickly. It shifts from a general overview to direct questions: "Who's attached?" "Is that confirmed?" "What's the budget?" "What's in already?" "How much is still to raise?" "When are you aiming to shoot?"

At that point, they are not just trying to understand the project. They are checking what is actually real and how it could come together. If the conversation reaches that stage, it is moving. If it does not, it usually stays general and does not go further.

They are sizing it up. You will hear it straight away: "Who's attached?" "Is that confirmed?" "What's the budget?" "What's in?" "How much is still to raise?"

They are not making conversation. They are checking what is actually real and what is still just talk. It is also a pressure point. If you are clear and precise, it moves. If you hedge or blur it, they clock it immediately. That is usually where they decide if it is worth going further or not.

They are checking where they can come in. You will hear things like "What's available?" "Are you holding UK?" "Who's on for Europe?" "What's left?"

They are not asking out of curiosity. They are working out if there is a role for them. A sales agent is looking at overall rights. A distributor is focused on their territory. A producer may be thinking about co-production. If nothing is available, the conversation usually stops there. If something is open, that is when it can move.

You answer directly and stay specific. You explain how the budget has been built, who worked on it, and how it reflects what is in the script. If you cannot do that clearly, the conversation usually stays on the budget and does not move forward.

From there, you show that the numbers are grounded in the project itself — that a proper script breakdown has been done, the schedule and budget align, and the main cost areas are understood. They are not looking for every detail, but they do expect you to know where the money is going and why.

They will also be listening for what is confirmed and what is still uncertain. If key elements like cast, locations or timelines are not locked, you need to be clear about that and how it affects the budget. If you can show where the risks are and how they are being managed, the conversation usually moves on.

Be clear on why the cast is attached and what they bring to the project. Not in general terms, but in a way that shows the decision is deliberate and thought through. If that is not easy to explain, it raises doubt about how the project has been put together.

Keep it grounded in how the film works — where the cast fits within the tone, the audience, and the type of film you are making. If there is a gap between the ambition of the project and how the cast is being perceived, this is usually where the conversation tightens.

You may still disagree, and that is fine. But you need to hold your position without becoming defensive. If you lean too much on personal preference, it weakens the argument. Before going into the meeting, know where your line is — whether the cast is fixed, or something that could shift depending on who you are speaking to and what they bring.

Be specific about where the film connects beyond its domestic market and why. Move beyond the story itself and point to what allows it to travel — whether that is the genre, the tone, the themes, or the audience it speaks to. If that is not clear, the conversation tends to stay general.

Show that you have thought beyond your home market. Not by claiming it works everywhere, but by being precise about where it fits and how it might reach those audiences. If you disagree, you can hold that position, but it needs to be grounded. Simply insisting it will travel is not enough.

At the same time, do not overstate it. Some projects are more contained. What matters is being clear about the scope and not forcing a wider reach that is not there.

You can tell by how quickly the conversation moves off your script and into their questions. If it is going well, they interrupt early — not to shut you down, but to get to what matters for them. They will stop you to ask things like "Who's confirmed on this?" "What stage is it at?" or "Is any of the budget already in?" That means they are engaging and trying to place the project.

They will also start focusing on one or two points and push on them — staying on casting, asking if names are locked, or going straight into budget. That shows they are testing it, not just listening.

You will also feel the shift in pace. The meeting becomes more of a back and forth rather than you presenting and them listening. If it goes further, they start asking questions that relate to their side — a distributor asking about timing or territories, a producer asking how it could be structured. That is when they are starting to place themselves in the project.

If none of that happens, and you get through the whole pitch without interruption and only polite questions at the end, it usually has not landed.

They stay general. They do not move beyond the basics. They do not ask follow-up questions or give any hint of wanting to take it further. No push on cast, budget, positioning, or what is still open.

They do not engage with the project in a practical way. No sense of where it could sit or what they would do with it. They do not ask for anything — no materials, no next step, no suggestion to continue. They stay polite, but the conversation does not move. You feel it early.

Yes, and that happens more often than people expect. Not every meeting is going to move forward. You go through the project, they ask a few questions, and that is it. Be prepared for meetings that do not seem to engage with your project and rejection — immediately in the meeting, in follow-up emails, or more likely being ghosted for a while.

In some meetings it is clear that this is not the right buyer, agent or production company. Whilst you may wish to cut your losses, for relationship and reputation you do want to go through the motions, even if the other side has started to glaze over.

Do not see it as a failure if it does not go anywhere. That is part of Cannes. You are not expected to convert every meeting. Many do not convert any. The week is about volume, exposure, and hopefully finding the right fit — not forcing something on those that will not engage. Do not go into panic mode, or try to force things by saying things you cannot back up. Take what you can from it, and move on.

If a meeting goes well, they will usually ask for things — which is always a positive sign. Most commonly, a digital copy of your deck and presentation. They may ask to add more detail if it is not in there, which includes budget and where the project currently stands.

They may also ask for a script, a treatment, or a cut if you have one — all good signals that they want to review and discuss this with the team. Depending on who you are speaking to, they may also ask for more clarity on cast attachments, budget breakdown, what is already in and what is still open, territories, financing structure or timeline.

Whatever you send needs to match what was discussed and be tailored to them. Not a mass follow-up that answers everyone's question. It should reflect the conversation you just had. If you send what they actually asked for, it gives it a chance to move forward.

Before you leave the meeting, make sure there is a clear next step. Ask what they would like to see after the meeting, and then offer it. A script or treatment if you have one, a cut or early trailer if it exists, a copy of the numbers. Do not offer things you are not ready or willing to share at this stage, but do not leave empty-handed either.

If it makes sense, suggest a follow-up after Cannes once they have had a chance to review whatever you send. The key is not leaving it open-ended — be clear on what they want next and when you will be back in touch. If they are vague about next steps, do not fill the silence by over-offering. Wrap cleanly and follow up after Cannes.